R.I.P. Bernard “Bernie” Sahlins

The writer, director, and comedian who co-founded the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago in 1959 died Sunday, reports the Chicago Tribune. He was 90. Sahlins, along with Second City partners Paul Sills and Howard Alk, created the comedy institution that turned out alumni including Alan Arkin, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Catherine O’Hara, Gilda Radner, and John and Jim Belushi. Award-winning Sahlins also opened Toronto’s Second City Theatre and co-founded The University of Chicago’s Off-Off Campus and The International Theatre Festival of Chicago. He executive produced the troupe’s foray into Canadian television, SCTV, which ran from 1976 to 1984.